reg. questions?

[Flood]

I am going to hawaii in a couple of months and i;m going to do some diving.. I just recently got my ow cert. (this past weekend) what i have know is .... mask, fins, snorkle, boots, weight belt. I am going to rent the rest of the equipment while im in maui... BC, tank and stuff....
now i am contemplating gettting a first stage , reg , octo, and guages, so i have my own, and purchase the rest of the equipment later on.. i would just like to hear some input on what type of set up i should look into and how much ???
FLOOD

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If you are going to be using a rental BC it makes sense to get an LP inflator hose with a standard disconnect. Most rental equipment will have an inflator using a standard LP fitting. In the cases where something else is used, the shop will need to attach their hose to your first stage.

An SPG and depth gauge is the minimum requirement but a dive computer can be very nice to have, particularly if the DM is doing multilevel dives along walls, slopes, etc. These types of dives are often not table freindly and it ends up being a "trust me" dive whihc is never a good thing.

As for brand of reg, stick wth something you can get serviced locally, and, if you are somewhat nomadic, stick with a brand with a wide dealer support network. Aqualung and Scubapro come to mind as companies with wide spread dealer networks where you can get service and warrantly support nearly everywhere.

If you are staying above 100-130 ft a basic reg like a Scubapro Mk 2 190 or Mk 2 R390 will do nicely and they are compact and fairly light weight making them well suited for travel. Cost will run around $240 to $290 respectively.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

As for brand of reg, stick wth something you can get serviced locally, and, if you are somewhat nomadic, stick with a brand with a wide dealer support network. Aqualung and Scubapro come to mind...

I'll second that. And add if you think you'll ever travel and dive. When I started out in CA I got a really good deal on a really good Beauchat reg. No problem getting it serviced in CA, but when I moved to CO no one would touch it. Now I have a ScubaPro set that I don't like quite as well, but can be serviced anywhere.

p.s. I'm not implying that Beauchat is better than ScubaPro, I just couldn't afford to go top-of-the-line this time.

 

[Flood]

thanks guys i will look into that ....

 

[rescuediver009]

Take a look at what brands your LDS carries (or whereever you are buying from) and come back with them. Scubapro is a good way to start though.

 

[scubapro50]

SCUBAPRO ? good choice ..... listen to what people are saying. I dove with it for over 20 years and have no regrets . Have owned other brands and still have a few hanging in my closet ..... a Dacor R4, Dacor950, Dacor360 and a Voit Titan 2 ...... but my favorite is my Scubapro MK10 . The wife and kids use the singlehose Dacor stuff but the MK10 is mine and everyone knows to keep their hands off .....

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I have always liked SP regs. It is not just a matter of performance or quality but also their evolutionary approach to design. They not only continue to provide parts and service support for decades and still support nearly every reg they have ever made, but they also have a history of making improvements in new regs that can also be retrofitted into their older regs.

Aqualung/US Divers is the only other company that comes close to sharing this distinction now that Mares has basically dumped support for older Dacor regs.

I have owned other regs by several other companies they have all come and gone, but I have never sold or traded a Scubapro reg. And the first reg I ever owned, a Scubapro Mk III High Performance, (basically an ancestor of the Mk 2 Plus R190) works as well today as the day it was made. Both statements say a lot.

 

[scuba_frog]

Ok stupid question...are you taking weights with that weight belt. That could put your luggage over the airline's 50# weight limit. I've been told to rent weight so you don't have to lug them around or pay extra for your luggage...just a thought.

 

[frenzer3]

We just happened to be looking at the "active topics" and saw this new thread... it was mentioned that Mares has basically dumped support for older Dacor regs... does anyone have advice for those of us with older Dacor regs re: service? (Ditto on where's a good place to get Beauchat reg service?)

I have always liked SP regs. It is not just a matter of performance or quality but also their evolutionary approach to design. They not only continue to provide parts and service support for decades and still support nearly every reg they have ever made, but they also have a history of making improvements in new regs that can also be retrofitted into their older regs.

Aqualung/US Divers is the only other company that comes close to sharing this distinction now that Mares has basically dumped support for older Dacor regs.

I have owned other regs by several other companies they have all come and gone, but I have never sold or traded a Scubapro reg. And the first reg I ever owned, a Scubapro Mk III High Performance, (basically an ancestor of the Mk 2 Plus R190) works as well today as the day it was made. Both statements say a lot.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Some shops still have parts for older Dacor regs, but when they are gone, they are gone.

At this point Dacor has discontinued parts for all their numbered first stages as well as for the Enduro first stage.

I have this sinking suspicion that Mares does not plan to make a new production run of annual service kits for any Dacor regs that are not currently produced. If so, the list of unsupported regs will continue to grow.

If you have an older Dacor reg, get it serviced now and buy an extra annual service kit for the first and second stages if you can find a shop that will sell them to you.